“We are a responsible nuclear state” – North Korea’s missile defence

In a statement addressed to the chairman of the Asean summit in Manila, North Korea’s foreign minister has blamed the USA for the nuclear stand-off of the Korean Peninsular

The foreign minister of North Korea — or the DPRK as it calls itself — has issued a statement seeking to justify its development of nuclear weapons.

H E Ri Yong addressed the six-page document to the chairman of the Asean summit being held in Manila today (Monday, August 7).

In brief, the main points of the statement are:

The DPRK is a “responsible” nuclear state

We were “transparent” in developing our nuclear weapons

If we are to prevent US military invasion, we need the capability to strike at the heart of the USA

Our weapons are no threat to any other nations, unless they join US military action against the DPRK

Non-nuclear states such as Panama, Iraq, etc, have suffered regime change and interference by the USA

A photograph of the statement, which was shared on Twitter by Jonathan Miller of the UK’s Channel 4 news

Key quotes:

The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsular is one that was created and developed into the present phase today because of the USA

The DPRK’s possession of nukes and ICBMs is a legitimate option of self-defence in the face of clear and real nuclear threat posed by the US against the DPRK

…………

Had it not been the hostile policy enforced by the US for more than 70 years against the DPRK since the first day of its founding, and had that policy not been intensified with an undisguised nuclear blackmail and threat, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsular would not have come into being from the beginning.

………….

The US is the one and only country in this world that massacred hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian population by using the nuclear weapon in a real war.

………….

No other country in this world than the DPRK has been exposed to the nuclear threat of the US for such a long time so directly and with such intensity.

Owing to the predominant propaganda media of the US, the world is not well aware of this truth.

…………

Where there is oppression, there is resistance. Likewise, where there is nuclear threat, there is bound to be nuclear deterrence.

Since the emergence of nuclear weapons in the world, it has been proved throughout history that nukes can deter wars.

While the nuclear weapon states have never been under any military attack, non-nuclear states such as Grenada, Panama, Haiti, former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Somalia underwent regime change by military attack and interference by the US.

……….

If we are to effectively prevent the military invasion of the US in geographical position of our country, we need to possess intercontinental attack capabilities to strike the heart of the US.

…………

The DPRK is a responsible nuclear power and ICBM state.

We have no intention to use nuclear weapons or threat with nuclear weapons against any other country except the US, unless it joins military action of the US against the DPRK.

…………

I will not trouble to mention the Japanese and South Korean authorities who regard kow-towing blindly to the US as their mode of existence.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is currently meeting with President Duterte and is expected to discuss the North Korea issue, along with the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea.